A sports medicine franchise can be owned by licensed clinicians who want to move past the ceiling of solo practice, by allied-health professionals who have never signed a lease before, and by healthcare investors who plan to hire the clinical team rather than provide care themselves. In other words: the ownership seat isn't reserved for one credential. It's shaped by state licensing rules, the ownership model of the franchise you're evaluating, and the operating strengths you bring to the business.
That's the short version. The longer version — the one worth reading before you fill out a form or wire an application fee — walks through each candidate profile, what a state license does and does not entitle you to, and where the practical bar sits for people who don't have a clinical background at all.
The four candidate profiles most likely to qualify
Most people who inquire about a sports medicine franchise fall into one of four buckets. The bar for each is different, and the paperwork is different, but the underlying question is the same: can this person legally and operationally stand behind a clinic that treats patients?
- Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) — often already running or working inside a practice, drawn to an integrated model that lets them add adjacent care instead of losing patients to referrals.
- Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPT) — clinicians who see the demand every day and are looking for a way to own a business without stitching one together from scratch.
- Athletic Trainers (ATC) — providers with deep sideline and rehab experience who want a permanent home for the work rather than a seasonal contract.
- Healthcare entrepreneurs and investors — non-clinicians with capital, operating experience, or an existing multi-unit portfolio who plan to run the business while licensed providers deliver care.
Each of those profiles is legitimate. None of them is automatic. The rest of this guide covers what each group typically needs, where state law tightens or loosens the picture, and what Alpha looks for on top of the legal basics.
Chiropractors: an obvious fit, with real scope questions
Chiropractors are, in many ways, the most direct fit for integrated sports medicine ownership. The demand data supports it — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 10 percent employment growth for chiropractors from 2024 to 2034, well above the 3 percent all-occupations average, and specifically notes that chiropractors increasingly work alongside physicians and physical therapists. The workflow reality supports it too. A DC already spends the day assessing joint function, prescribing corrective movement, and coordinating with adjacent providers.
What varies is scope. Every state requires a DC to hold an active license, and each state's chiropractic board defines what that license actually covers — imaging, therapies, adjunct modalities, physical medicine codes, and referral relationships all sit inside those rules. That's why "can a chiropractor own a sports medicine franchise?" is really two questions: can you sign the franchise agreement, and can your license support the services you plan to offer under your name.
Under the Alpha model, a DC-owner doesn't have to personally deliver every discipline in the clinic. Physical therapy, athletic training, massage, and other services are delivered by the appropriately licensed providers you hire, under the supervision structure your state requires. Our founder, Dr. Ben Bumguardner, is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician — the model was designed from the inside by someone who knows how a DC-owned clinic actually operates. See how clinical credentials shape your franchise for the deeper look.
Physical Therapists: from staff clinician to clinic owner
The path from Doctor of Physical Therapy to clinic owner is one of the most common ownership stories in outpatient rehab, and integrated sports medicine is a natural extension of it. The BLS projects 11 percent employment growth for physical therapists from 2024 to 2034 — another category growing much faster than the economy at large — driven by an aging population and the ongoing shift to non-opioid pain management.
A PT considering ownership needs a current DPT license in the state of operation and, in most cases, a plan for how services outside their scope will be delivered. All states license PTs and require a qualifying exam; some also require a state jurisprudence exam or additional continuing-education documentation, which is one reason multi-state franchise growth has to be planned around real license portability rather than assumed.
The ownership question for a PT is less "am I qualified?" and more "what does the business look like the day the first patient walks in?" A well-designed franchise takes site selection, buildout, EMR, billing, hiring, and marketing off your plate so the practice you knew from the treatment room is the practice you actually get to run. That's the trade a well-fit franchise makes for you.
Athletic Trainers: turning sideline expertise into ownership
Athletic trainers occupy a specific and often underestimated place in the sports medicine ecosystem. They are the providers who evaluate injuries on the field, build return-to-play plans, and bridge the gap between acute injury and clinical care. The BLS projects 11 percent employment growth for athletic trainers from 2024 to 2034, and nearly every state now requires an ATC to be licensed or certified.
What an ATC-owner brings to a clinic is exactly what makes an integrated model work — an instinct for care coordination, comfort with athletes at every level, and a background in translating rehab progress into real function. What an ATC often doesn't bring is a background in outpatient billing, healthcare-specific compliance, or franchise-scale operations. That's the gap a franchise is built to fill.
For a deeper look at how the model fits your credential, see the athletic-trainer path to franchise ownership in Texas.
Non-clinician investors and operators
You do not have to be a clinician to own an integrated sports medicine franchise. Under the operator-owner model, a non-clinician holds the ownership entity, runs the business, and hires the licensed providers who deliver care. It's a well-established structure in outpatient healthcare and the reason healthcare-adjacent investors and multi-unit franchisees are able to participate in categories they can't personally practice in.
The trade for a non-clinician owner is straightforward. You do not carry a treatment license, so you do not have scope-of-practice constraints on what the business can offer — those live with the providers you hire, under your state's supervision rules. What you carry instead is the operating side: the P&L, the lease, the hiring plan, the local marketing, and the accountability for how the clinic functions week to week.
Alpha screens investor candidates for two things above all: financial fit against the FDD Item 7 range, and a willingness to lead a clinical team with humility. If you're weighing this path, our overview of the non-clinician operator-owner model walks through what changes and what doesn't.
What every candidate needs, regardless of background
Across all four profiles, the qualifications converge around a shared checklist. None of these are unique to Alpha — they're the practical bar for owning any healthcare franchise in the United States.
| Category | What candidates typically need |
|---|---|
| Financial | Ability to meet the FDD Item 7 range — a $50,000 franchise fee and $405,950–$605,320 total estimated initial investment — through personal capital, investors, or SBA-eligible financing. |
| Legal / Corporate | Formation of an operating entity in the state of operation and, for clinical services, compliance with that state's professional corporation or supervision requirements. |
| Clinical Licensure | An active state license (DC, DPT, ATC, or another qualifying credential) held by the owner, an on-staff clinician, or the clinic director, depending on state law. |
| Operating Commitment | Willingness to be actively engaged in the business — either as the day-to-day operator or as an owner-investor with a hired general manager. |
| Cultural Fit | Alignment with an integrated, evidence-informed model and comfort leading a multidisciplinary clinical team. |
Those figures — the $50,000 franchise fee and the $405,950 to $605,320 total estimated initial investment — come from the Franchise Disclosure Document Item 7 and are the only investment numbers Alpha will confirm outside of a live conversation. Anything beyond that lives in the FDD you'll review during your discovery process.
What Alpha looks for on top of the basics
Meeting the legal and financial bar gets you a conversation. What earns an award is a set of qualities the checklist can't measure. Alpha weighs three of them heavily.
Community orientation. Integrated sports medicine works when a clinic is part of the fabric of its town — the youth-sports leagues, the CrossFit boxes, the running clubs, the fire and police departments, the parents driving their kids to practice. Owners who already live inside that ecosystem outperform owners who plan to build it from a standing start.
Coachability. The best clinical operators we've worked with treat the franchise system like a training program — they use it. Owners who treat guardrails as suggestions and playbooks as options rarely enjoy the ride, and rarely produce the outcomes their patients came in for.
Long horizon. Clinical businesses reward patience. Referral networks compound. Reputation compounds. Patient trust compounds. An owner planning a multi-year build — and comfortable being visible in the market during that build — is a fundamentally different candidate than one looking for a fast flip. Read more about why in our note on integrated ownership vs. solo practice.
How to know if you're actually a fit
If you've read this far and you're still nodding, the next step is a candid conversation, not another article. Bring the specifics: your credential and state, your capital picture, whether you want to be the operator or hire one, and the market you're most interested in. From there we can tell you honestly whether an Alpha franchise is the right instrument for what you're trying to build.
Have questions about qualifying? Contact the Alpha Sports franchise team at franchise@ASPMFranchise.com or call (402) 852-5742.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be a licensed clinician to own a sports medicine franchise?
No. Non-clinicians can own under the operator-owner model, in which the licensed care is delivered by the providers you hire, under your state's supervision rules. Clinician-owners are welcome and common.
Which clinical licenses fit the Alpha model?
Doctors of Chiropractic (DC), Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Athletic Trainers (ATC) are the most common credentials among Alpha franchisee candidates, alongside healthcare entrepreneurs and investors without a treatment license.
What is the total investment to open an Alpha Sports Performance Medicine clinic?
Per FDD Item 7, the franchise fee is $50,000 and the total estimated initial investment is $405,950 to $605,320. Full detail lives in the current Franchise Disclosure Document shared during discovery.
Can I own more than one location?
Multi-unit ownership is available for qualified candidates. Exclusive territories are available across Texas today; the mix that makes sense depends on your capital picture, your operating capacity, and the markets you're targeting.
What's the first step if I'm interested?
Reach out through the contact page or call (402) 852-5742. A short discovery call helps us understand your background and market interest before you commit any time to a formal application.
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